Multi-purpose cookware

ABSTRACT

A cooker having a base unit and a cover. The cover including a top and bottom ends. The bottom end having a circular edge extending straight and upwardly therefrom to form an annular wall. The annular wall further extending inwardly to form a top portion.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/948,493 filed Sep. 7, 2001, now abandoned which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/785,373 filed Feb. 16, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,654.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is concerned with a cooker of the type having a cooking base and a cover.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Several different types of cookers presently exist on the market. Each of these cookers is adapted for a specific use and cooking process. To this day, different cookers are provided for different cooking processes. For example and just to name a few, woks are designed to stir-fry foods together, pressure cookers cook food under high temperature and steam pressure and frying pans are designed to fry food.

For most of these cookers, the essential component allowing effective cooking of foods is provided by the cooking vessel or the base unit. Therefore, the covers for most of these cookers act only as a secondary component, or an accessory that is not essential for the cooking process.

Furthermore, in most cases, a substantially amount of oil is needed for cooking the food. If not enough oil is used, the food, especially meat, will become very dry and tough. If too much oil is used, the food will be very oily and unhealthy to eat.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,466 is concerned with a cooker that has an annular trough on the periphery of the cooking vessel to allow separate cooking or treatment of foodstuff.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,798 is concerned with a high temperature dry steam cooker. According to this patent, foods are cooked with high temperatures steam created within the confinement of the cooker. In use, water is placed in the base unit and food is placed on a rack that sits above the base unit containing water. During cooking, a tray and a steam baffle is installed over the rack containing food and the cover is then installed thereon thereby creating the cooking confinement.

In view of the above, there is a need to design a cooker that is simple in structure, multifunctional and allows a healthy way of cooking foods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the present invention provides for a cooking apparatus comprising: a cooking vessel comprising an open receptacle having a bottom surface which extends upwardly to form side walls and terminate at a rim, the rim has an annular collar, and the annular collar has a diameter larger than the diameter of the rim, the annular collar comprises a rack-supporting surface and a cover supporting surface situated adjacent to an annular flange; a cover having a bottom end and a top end, the bottom end extending upwardly to form side walls, the side walls leading to the top end, the bottom end of the cover is designed to rest upon the cover supporting surface of the annular collar and be adjacent to the annular flange; and a rack comprising at least two reversible surfaces for cooking food, the rack is designed to rest upon the rack-supporting surface of the annular collar and is suspended over the bottom surface of the cooking vessel during use, the annular collar further comprises a ridge situated between the cover supporting surface and the rack-supporting surface, the rack supporting surface is situated adjacent to the side wall of the cooking vessel, the rack further comprises at least three generally circular rails, at least two posts and a grate, the posts is connected to and situated perpendicular to each of the three rails, the grate is situated parallel between the first and second rails to thereby create differing heights for cooking, the rack providing for reversible cooking surfaces.

In another embodiment, the grate of the rack has opposing sides which provides for the reversible cooking surfaces.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a cooker that is multifunctional in that it can carry out different cooking processes such as all forms of stove-cooking without limiting to frying, steaming, poaching, boiling, stir-frying, and sauté, as well as other oven-like cooking processes not limiting to baking and roasting on the stove top.

A second object of the invention is to provide a cooker that is simple in structure and easy to use.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a cooker that allows a faster way of cooking food.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a cooker that allows a healthier way of cooking food.

A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a cooker that will retain the moisture and vitamins of the food.

Accordingly, the objects of the present invention are met with a cooker comprising a cooking vessel and a cover,

-   -   the cooking vessel comprising an open receptacle having a bottom         surface which extends upwardly and unitarily to terminate at a         circular rim, the rim having a diameter and an end extending         upwardly thereby forming an annular collar, the annular collar         having a diameter larger than the diameter of the rim;     -   a cover having a top and a bottom end, the bottom end having a         circular edge adapted to sit on the rim of the cooking vessel,         the circular edge having a diameter smaller than the diameter of         the annular collar, the cover extending straight and upwardly         from the circular edge to form an annular wall of a         predetermined height, the annular wall extending inwardly to         form a top end, the top end including a handle.

The objects and advantages and other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given for the purpose of exemplification only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of the cooker according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded side perspective view of the cooking vessel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a rack according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a cooking vessel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cover according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the cooker of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1, the cooker 1 according to the present invention comprises a cooking vessel 21, a cover 3 and preferably a rack 51. In the context of the present invention, the cooking vessel can be any base unit usable for cooking food and usable in combination with the cover according to the present invention.

In the illustrated embodiment, the cooking vessel 21 comprises an open receptacle having a bottom surface 31 which extends upwardly and unitarily to terminate at a circular rim. The circular rim has a diameter and an end extending upwardly so to form an annular collar 23. The annular collar 23 has a diameter larger than the diameter of the rim. The annular collar 23 is designed to protrude from the rim of the cooking vessels thereby creating an enhanced temporary vapour seal and allowing the moisture to roll back down in the cooking vessel 21 when the cover 3 is in place. The annular collar 23 is also designed to create a containment area thereby preventing splattering during the cooking process.

The cooking vessel 21 of the present invention preferably has a non-stick-coating interior and may be made of a suitable material such as a metal or metal alloy selected from the group consisting of carbon core stainless steel, aluminium core stainless steel, solid stainless steel with braised heat conducting base, carbon steel, copper aluminium clad stainless steel and cast iron. Preferably, it is made of a high-grade heat conducting aluminium. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the cooking vessel of the present invention may further comprise a pair of handles 41 located diametrically opposite from each other. The handles 41 are made of a heat resistant material such as a plastic or phenolic material or other material such as metal. The handles may further be different in shape and size and may be secured to the cooking vessel 21 with any appropriate attaching means such as industrial grade rivets or welded studs. In another preferred embodiment, the handles may form an integral part of the cooking vessel 21 such as integrated cast handles.

As can be further seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cooker 1 of the present invention may further comprise a steaming rack 51. The rack 51 has a shape that matches with the contour of the rim of the cooking vessel 21 in order to fit perfectly on the inner side of the rim 25. The rack 51 is designed to efficiently suspend food in the middle of the cooking vessel thereby allowing the food thereon to cook or keep warm.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the cover 3 of the cooker of the present invention has a top and a bottom end. The bottom end has a circular edge adapted to sit on the outer side of the rim of the cooking vessel 21. The circular edge has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the annular collar 23. The cover 3 is characterised in that the circular edge extends straight and upwardly from the edge to form an annular wall 5 of a predetermined height. The annular wall 5 further extends inwardly to form a top end 7. As seen in the illustrated embodiment, the top end 7 of the cover may further include a handle 13. As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the handle 13 may incorporate a pressure regulator.

The cover 3 is made of a material suitable for its cooking applications and may be selected from the group consisting of metal such as stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminium or glass or heat resistant plastic.

The cover 3 is engineered to trap and use the hot steam generated by the cooking vessel 21 to cook food in the cooker 1. The inner surface of the cover is preferably shiny. This allows the surface to eventually reflect heat and to direct steam back down in the cooking vessel 21.

It should be noted that the annular wall 5 of the cover renders it unique in that it is this feature that allows efficient convection cooking. The high walls of the cover before the curve 7 at the top allow steam build up thus creating a separate containment area of steam. The curve portion 7 of the cover 3 allows conventional movement of the steam. It allows the steam to move up and down the entire volume of the cooker 1. Thus, the particular shape of the cover 3 allows the cooker 1 of the present invention to capture and contain the required volume of steam within the confinement. As a result, food is cooked by the hot steam generated in the cooker 1 and allows the food to retain its moisture. The effective steam trapping system of the cooker 1 of the present invention not only shortens the cooking time but also allows the food to retain its nutritional value.

As can be still seen in FIG. 5, the top end of the cover may comprise a flattened portion 9.

The cover 3 according to the present invention may be used separately from its base, that is with other cooking vessels 21 comprising but not limited to cookware, fry pans, stir fry pans, skillets, woks, roasters, BBQ, grills and pots. It may also be adapted to work atop or in combination with other cooking methods and vessels to which where a cover is used on or can be used to enhance the cooking characteristics, function and usage of said potential usage, for example but not limited to stove top cooking, oven, grill, BBQ or microwave cooking as well as with all electrical, gas or non electrical or gas applications.

Food cooked in the cooker 1 of the present invention not only has a nutritional value higher than comparable to food that is boiled or otherwise cooked, since it retains most of the nutrients and vitamins contained in raw food and also has a good textural and sensorial value, which is comparable to fried food.

Turning now to FIG. 6, it can be seen that the rim of the cooking vessel 21 may be separated by an annular flange 29 extending along the entire circumference of the cooking vessel 1, thereby defining an inner and outer sides of the rim 25,27. The inner end is adapted to receive a corresponding edge of the rack 51. The outer end of the rim 27 is adapted to receive the circular edge of the cover 3.

Test of Turbo Cooker™ Pan Versus Standard Cookware A.) The Purpose of the Test

A comparative study on the cooker of the present invention (referred to as Turbo Cooker™) was carried out in order to show its superiority compared to standard cookwares.

The purpose of this test is to measure the effectiveness of The Turbo Cooker™ pan designed with the unique straight sided domed cover, compared to other, usual types of stove top cooking apparatus. All stovetop cooking procedures use essentially the same kinds of equipment: a base pan with a cover. Variations are the size of the pan, cooking area and the shape and depth of the cover.

B.) Equipment

1.) Cookware; (a) The Turbo Cooker ™ 10¼″ wide at top of pan, 8½″ at base/2¼″ deep/ 2 step ledge straight sided domed cover/ 11½″ wide/2½″ 1^(st) step/ 4¼″ high (b) Wearever ™ 11½″ pan/3¼″ deep skillet 1/8″ thick/no edge glass cover with a slight concave * Turbo cover sits affixed right on top of the width of the skillet (c) Nordicware ™ 12″ wide at top of pan, 6″ stir fry wide at base/4¼″ deep/no edge no cover (used Pantastic ™ cover which rests into top of the pan) * Turbo cover rests into the top of the pan (d) Nordicware ™ 12″ wide/4″ deep/ roaster ribbed base/1 step ledge 2 step high dome cover, 12″ wide/6″ high (e) Pantastic ™ wok 12″ at the top/6¼ at base (cylindrical)/4⅜″ deep/ 2¼″ ledge aluminum cover, slight concave/11¾″ wide/ 4½″ high * Turbo cover fits into trough of the Pantastic ™ base (f) 12″ fry pan Standard aluminum core, Teflon coated 12″ fry pan using Nordicware ™ roaster & Turbo Cooker ™ pan cover.

-   2.) Heat Source: The cooking tests were done on a standard,     electrical, household stove with 4 Calrod element burners, using the     larger burners. -   3.) The configuration of covers used on each piece of cookware:     -   (a) (i) The Turbo Cooker™ pan with unique straight sided domed         cover.         -   (ii) The Turbo Cooker™ pan with the Nordicware™ roaster dome             cover.         -   (An adapter ring needed to be used as the cover is slightly             larger than the pan)         -   (iii) The Turbo Cooker™ pan using the Pantastic™ cover.         -   (iv) The Turbo Cooker™ pan using the Flat stainless steel             universal lid.     -   (b) (i) Wearever™ skillet, non-stick coated, stamped aluminum         with regular glass cover.         -   (ii) Wearever™ skillet, using a Turbo Cooker™ pan unique             straight-sided domed cover.         -   (iii) Wearever™ skillet, using a Turbo Cooker™ cover but on             top of an adapter ring.         -   (An adapter ring was used to verify the results apposed to             without the ring to compare results with the Nordicware™             roaster cover on the same skillet).         -   (iv) Wearever™ skillet, using the Pantastic™ cover.         -   (v) Wearever™ skillet, using the Nordicware™ roaster cover             but on top of an adapter ring.         -   (An adapter ring needed to be used as the cover is slightly             larger than the pan)     -   (c) (i) Nordicware™ stir-fry, non-stick coated, stamped steel         using Flat stainless steel universal lid.         -   (ii) Nordicware™ stir-fry, using a Turbo Cooker™ pan unique             straight-sided domed cover.         -   (iii) Nordicware™ stir-fry, using the Nordicware™ roaster             domed cover         -   (iv) Nordicware™ stir-fry, using the Pantastic™ cover.     -   (d) (i) Nordicware™ roaster, non-stick coated, stamped steel         with its high domed cover.         -   (ii) Nordicware™ roaster, using a Turbo Cooker™ cover but on             top of an adapter ring.         -   (An adapter ring needed to be used as the cover is slightly             larger than the pan)     -   (e) (i) Pantastic™ wok, non-stick coated, stamped steel with a         domed cover.         -   (ii) Pantastic™ wok, using a Turbo Cooker™ pan unique             straight sided domed cover.         -   (iii) Pantastic™ wok, using a flat aluminum cover.     -   (f) (i) 12″ fry pan * with Turbo Cooker™ pan straight sided         domed cover sifting in the pan.         -   (ii) 12″ fry pan * using the Nordicware™ roaster cover             (closest to the Turbo Cooker™ pan)     -   The aluminum fla, cover is from an aluminum pot. The cover fits         the surface of each pan.     -   The adapter ring is a sheet of round aluminum (pizza pan) that         had a hole cut out to allow the steam to function as it would         normally if the cover in question sat properly on the ledge of         the pan. In such the adapter replaced and became a ledge.

C.) Method

Frozen meat which has been in the freezer for at least 48 hours (frozen in separated zip lock™ bags) has been defrosted and then weighed to insure similar results will manifest in each test.

The meat is placed into a Turbo Cooker™ pan and spread forming one large patty. The same meat size & thickness was used for each different piece of cookware. A timer with auto reset is used for exact timing.

-   Stage 1) From a cold pan, placed on a cold element the pan (with the     meat in it) is heated to maximum. -   Stage 2) After 2 minutes, the timer (which has been set for 2     minutes) rings. The cover is removed and the timer is allowed to     continue to ring. The meat is flipped, and then chopped up for 28     seconds and at 30 seconds the cover is replaced and the timer is     stopped and then restarted for an additional 2 minutes. -   Stage 3) When the timer rings again, the meat is stirred, flipped     and chopped up again for 23 seconds. A prepared ¼ cup of water is     added and stirred for 5 seconds, totaling an elapsed time of 28     seconds. The cover is then replaced and the timer is stopped. It has     rung for 30 seconds (after it originally counted down the 2     minutes). An additional timer, which is already set for 1 minute, is     started. -   Stage 4) When the 1-minute has elapsed and the timer rings the cover     is removed. The pre-prepared 1-cup of onions is added (being held in     the right hand of the tester) and the can of tomatoes (which has     already been opened) is added next (which has been held in the left     hand). Then the pasta is added (being held in the right hand of the     tester) and a pre-prepared 1-cup of water is added (which has been     held in the left hand). The mixture is then stirred for a total     elapsed time of 58 seconds. The cover is replaced for a total lapsed     time of 1 minute. The scale is then turned off. -   Stage 5) The heat is turned to medium high (#8 on the dial) and then     a third timer, which has been preset for 12 minutes, is started.     During the 12 minutes the measuring tray is cleaned. -   Stage 6) The food is then tested for texture and taste.

The element is then allowed to cool (for the next test) and the scale is washed and cleaned so that it also is ready for the next test.

Ingredients used for testing Ingredients used for the test: Pantastic ™ wok: 454 gr. medium ground beef 227 gr. Medium ground beef 128 gr. (1 cup) of minced onions 64 gr. (½ cup) of minced onions 796 ml. (28 oz.) can of diced 398 ml. (14 oz.) can of diced tomatoes tomatoes 200 gr. (2½ cups) of Penne 100 gr. (1¼ cups) of Penne 1 cup room temperature water 1 cup room temperature water Explanation as to why this Recipe was Used as the Test and the Control Elements for Testing Purposes:

-   -   This recipe was made for cookware that prepare all in one meals,         meaning a pot or pan that can prepare several different foods or         ingredients combining them into one full meal.     -   This recipe allows for 3 very specific results to be charted.         -   (1) That 3 types of different ingredients can be cooked in             one pot or pan and we can study the tastes and -textures of             these different foods and verify for consistency. (Meat,             vegetables and pasta).         -   (2) That we can verify the overall cooking efficiency of the             cookware (and its components, as well by interchanging the             covers we can control the tests integrity as to the actual             improvements or decreases in cooking results).         -   (3) We can verify how heat and steam are used and             transferred in each piece of cookware as well as how the             different covers play a role in overall cooking results.             This is analyzed by how evenly the food is cooked—for             instance the pasta should be cooked to the same degree and             texture throughout the pan and that the taste of the meal             should be consistent throughout (for each and every piece of             cookware being tested). This final test determines (along             with the efficiency aspect) the true usage and benefits to             each piece of cookware as well as the relationship and             results from the cover used.     -   Each piece of cookware used, was tested with several forms of         covers (including the Turbo Cooker™ pan's) to allow the cookware         to perform in a similar manner to the Turbo Cooker™ pan. As well         the design of the straight-sided domed cover is tested to see if         it actually improves cooking performance and results, which are         similar to those results recorded for the Turbo Cooker™ pan         itself.

We used a smaller quantity of ingredients for the test of the Pantastic™ wok (prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,466) because of the limited capacity of this unit. We used exactly ½ the quantity of all ingredients except the water, this due to initial tests which saw a completely burnt pasta result.

D.) Summary of Results

-   Objective Desired: To test the performance of:     -   1.) A selection of standard cookware with various covers     -   2.) A selection of standard cookware with the Turbo Cooker™         pan's unique straight sided domed cover.     -   3.) To measure the differences between (1.) & (2.).     -   4.) Compare results of (3.) above to performance of The Turbo         Cooker™ pan. -   General Observations: With a wide selection of covers and bases and     testing each cover on each base we are able to see that a straight     sided domed cover has certain benefits to all other forms of domed     covers even a high dome cover. Due to the various base sizes an     adapter ring was created to enable that smaller covers to fit on     larger surfaces and the larger cover to fit onto small bases. The     control in this process is that we tested the Turbo Cooker™ cover on     one piece of cookware both with and without the adapter ring to see     if the ring itself affected the results, see test 3 (b) (ii) and (b)     (iii).     -   The skillet, roaster and fry pan have almost the same width as         the Turbo Cooker™ pan at the top where the cover sits but are         all much larger at the base (thus a greater cooking surface). A         flat cover blows steam & heat out the sides. A domed cover         retains more heat and moisture and therefore improves the         overall performance over a flat cover and it appears that the         straight-sided dome cover improves the results of both a flat         and a standard dome cover.     -   The stir fry has a smaller cooking surface and the results with         standard dome cover were better than a flat cover and even         greater with the Turbo Cooker™ pan's straight sided dome cover.         An improvement is seen when the base unit is thicker than         thinner, as evident in the greater results of Test 6 over the         same combination in test 4. -   Special Note: It should be noted that to see the efficiency of the     covers as far as rotation of heat and steam, we did not stir the     food during the cooking stages. Only at specified stages did we stir     food. This may be why in certain cases there was an inconstant taste     as typically food needs to be stirred during cooking. The more     proficient the cooking system the more overall taste and blending of     tastes that will occur. By seeing the results of testing a cooking     process without stirring food, we see if the unit itself is capable     of mixing flavors, which normally would be enhanced by actually     stirring the ingredients together.     -   We used a flat cover for the first test (of the Turbo Cooker™)         to verify 1 set of results with all forms of covers. The stir         fry pan had no cover itself. We used the flat glass cover of the         skillet as that was the cover that came with the pan. From the         verification of a flat cover versus all forms of domed covers         that we had, we did not do tests for every piece of cookware         with a flat cover, simply as a flat cover is the least efficient         form of cover and our focus was on how domed covers of different         shapes function against each other. The flat cover serves as a         control.     -   Each pan tested always saw the first set of results being with         its original cover, subsequent tests were recorded by best         results obtained.

E.) The Test, Results and Observations Test of #1—The Turbo Cooker™ Pan

The standard cooking procedure was followed using The Turbo Cooker™ pan, with 4 different covers, which were;

-   (a) (i) The Turbo Cooker™ pan with unique straight sided domed     cover. -   (a) (ii) The Turbo Cooker™ pan with the Nordicware™ roaster dome     cover.     -   (An adapter ring needed to be used as the cover is slightly         larger than the pan) -   (a) (iii) The Turbo Cooker™ pan using the Pantastic™ cover. -   (a) (iv) The Turbo Cooker™ pan using the Flat stainless steel     universal lid. -   Observations: (a.) (i) Meat is moist and has a fully seasoned taste,     the overall flavor was uniform throughout & the pasta had ideal     tenderness. -   Observations: (a.) (ii) The overall taste was good, pasta a little a     la dente. About ¼ of the base was burnt. -   Observations: (a.) (iii) Meat had a good taste but was not very     moist. The overall taste was good, pasta was good but a little a la     dente. About ¼ of the base was burnt. -   Observations: (a.) (iv) The first look is okay, but the pasta     absorbed less of the liquid and tomato=less taste. The pasta on the     top was less cooked, almost raw and overall there was too much     liquid. The pasta tasted as if it was simply boiled, very little     taste of the meal. The base of the pan had a small amount of burnt     areas.

Test of #2—The Wearever™ Skillet

The standard cooking procedure was followed using The Wearever™ Skillet, with 5 different covers, which were;

-   (b) (i) Wearever™ skillet, non-stick coated, stamped aluminum with     regular glass cover. -   (b) (ii) Wearever™ skillet, using a Turbo Cooker™ pan unique     straight sided domed cover. -   (b) (iii) Wearever™ skillet, using a Turbo Cooker™ cover but on top     of an adapter ring.     -   (An adapter ring was used to verify the results apposed to         without the ring to compare results with the Nordicware™ roaster         cover on the same skillet). -   (b) (iv) Wearever™ skillet, using the Pantastic™ cover. -   (b) (v) Wearever™ skillet, using the Nordicware™ roaster cover but     on top of an adapter ring. (An adapter ring needed to be used as the     cover is slightly larger than the pan) -   Observations: (b.) (i) There was evidence in the middle of the pan     that burning of the meat had occurred. As well, the sauce was     lacking in liquid. -   Observations: (b.) (ii) The overall flavor was acceptable. There was     sufficient liquid in the sauce & the meat was browned but not burnt. -   Observations: (b.) (iii) Flavor was acceptable, there was a little     burning. Meat and overall results moist. -   Observations: (b.) (iv) The pasta was unevenly cooked, the sauce was     just on the border line of running out, and there was a small amount     of burning on the base of the pan. -   Observations: (b.) (v) The pasta was a little more than a la dente     and there was some burnt areas.

Test of #3—The Nordicware™ Stir Fry Pan

The standard cooking procedure was followed using a Nordicware™ stir fry, with 4 different covers, which were;

-   (c) (i) Nordicware™ stir-fry, non-stick coated, stamped steel using     Flat stainless steel universal lid. -   (c) (ii) Nordicware™ stir-fry, using a Turbo Cooker™ pan unique     straight-sided domed cover. -   (c) (iii) Nordicware™ stir-fry, using the Nordicware™ roaster domed     cover -   (c) (iv) Nordicware™ stir-fry, using the Pantastic™ cover. -   Special observation: The stir-fry base is smaller than the element     of the stove therefore, 100% of the base is provided heat, as well     as the immediate sides of the pan (which slop upwards to the top). -   Observations: (c.) (i) Pasta was a little a la dente, the overall     taste was inconstant. -   Observations: (c.) (ii) The overall flavor was acceptable. The pasta     was well cooked & had an improved taste to the above. Meat was fine. -   Observations: (c.) (iii) There was some burning, the taste was     inconsistent and pasta could have used more cooking. -   Observations: (c.) (iv) The overall taste was inconsistent. The meat     had a better taste than the pasta which was not fully cooked.

Test of #4—The Nordicware™ Roaster

The standard cooking procedure was followed using a Nordicware™ roaster, with 2 different covers, which were;

-   (d) (i) Nordicware™ roaster, non-stick coated, stamped steel with     its high domed cover. -   (d) (ii) Nordicware™ roaster, using a Turbo Cooker™ cover but on top     of an adapter ring.     -   (An adapter ring needed to be used as the cover is slightly         larger than the pan) -   Special observation: We needed to create a adapter to hold the     slightly small Turbo Cooker™ straight domed cover on top of the     roaster. -   Observations: (d.) (i.) Possibly due to the thinner material in the     pan, there was significant burning. The pasta was poorly cooked,     i.e., it had several different textures through out the pan. The     meat was significantly burnt & the pan splattered fat during the 1st     four stages. -   Observations: (d.) (ii) Taste was good, there was a little burning     and the pasta was not consistently cooked, but better than (d) (i).     There was burning as well.

Test of #5—The Pantastic™ Wok

Similar cooking procedures were used, except lower temperatures for the first two stages (which was medium high or #8 on the temperature control 10 knob) and then medium for the balance of the cooking (which was #7 on the temperature control knob) as well as half the quantity of ingredients were used, using a Pantastic™ wok, with 3 different covers, which were;

-   (e) (i) Pantastic™ wok, non-stick coated, stamped steel with a domed     cover. -   (e) (ii) Pantastic™ wok, using a Turbo Cooker™ pan unique straight     sided domed cover. -   (e) (iii) Pantastic™ wok, using a flat aluminum cover. -   Observations: (e.) (i) The overall taste was very plain, the pasta     was a la dente and overall the taste was somewhat bland. -   Observations: (e.) (ii) The taste was okay, but still the pasta was     a little bland. The meat was moister. -   Observations: (e.) (iii) The meat was somewhat burnt, was dry and     the over all taste was bland.

Test of #6—A Standard 12″ Fry Pan

The standard cooking procedure was followed using a standard 12″ fry pan, with 2 different covers, which were;

-   (f) (i) 12″ fry pan * with Turbo Cooker™ pan straight sided domed     cover sitting in the pan. -   (f) (ii) 12″ fry pan * using the Nordicware™ roaster cover (closest     to the Turbo Cooker™ pan) -   Observations: (f.) (i) The pasta was overall a la dente with only a     few being less than a la dente. The overall taste was okay but     somewhat bland. The meat was moist. -   Observations: (f.) (ii) A la dente: A little burnt & the pasta was a     little uncooked in areas. The taste was even blander than (d) (ii).     Meat was moist. -   Overall conclusion: The performance of standard pans using the     straight-sided domed cover of the Turbo Cover™ improved     significantly.     -   The only cover that comes close to the results to the         straight-sided domed Turbo Cooker™ domed cover is the         Nordicware™ high domed cover.     -   All domed coves create a certain amount of convection cooking,         simply due to the rolling effect of heat and steam as it passes         up and around the domed interior of a cover. The advantage of         the straight sided domed cover is that it allows the creation of         a large volume of steam. The steam which would normally rotate         thus creating convention cooking. In a straight sided domed         cover this is enhanced because of the separation created by the         straight walls.     -   The final conclusion is that the straight-sided domed cover out         performs all other forms of domed covers by creating 2 separate         functions, one of rotating steam “convention” cooking and the         other of a vat of heat and steam retaining more moisture for the         cooking process in the designated area provided by the straight         sides of the cover.

Although the present invention has been explained hereinabove by way of a preferred embodiment thereof, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise embodiment and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. 

1. A cooking apparatus comprising: a cooking vessel comprising an open receptacle having a bottom surface which extends upwardly to form side walls and terminate at a rim, said rim having an annular collar, said annular collar having a diameter larger than the diameter of the rim, said annular collar comprising a rack-supporting surface and a cover supporting surface situated adjacent to an annular flange; a cover having a bottom end and a top end, said bottom end extending upwardly to form side walls, said side walls leading to said top end, said bottom end of said cover being designed to rest upon said cover supporting surface of said annular collar and be adjacent to said annular flange; and a rack comprising at least two reversible surfaces for cooking food, said rack being designed to rest upon said rack-supporting surface of said annular collar and being suspended over said bottom surface of said cooking vessel during use, said annular collar further comprises a ridge situated between said cover supporting surface and said rack-supporting surface, said rack supporting surface being situated adjacent to said side wall of said cooking vessel, said rack further comprises at least three generally circular rails, at least two posts and a grate, said posts being connected to and situated perpendicular to each of said three rails, said grate being situated parallel between said first and second rails to thereby create differing heights for cooking, said rack providing for reversible cooking surfaces.
 2. The cooking apparatus of claim 1 wherein said top end of said cover is domed shaped, said cover and said cooking vessel are at a predetermined height to maximize cooking using steam to get fried food texture and using heat and steam to accelerate the cooking process.
 3. The cooking apparatus of claim 1 wherein said grate comprises opposing sides, and said posts are situated perpendicular to said grate, said first and second rails being situated on opposing sides of said grate, said opposing sides of said grate provides for said reversible cooking surfaces.
 4. The cooking apparatus of claim 1 wherein said cooking vessel is constructed of a material selected from a group consisting of metal, metal alloys, aluminum, steel, stainless steel, carbon steel and mixtures thereof, said cooking vessel is coated with a non-stick surface material.
 5. The cooking apparatus of claim 1 wherein said cover comprises a handle and pressure regulator.
 6. The cooking apparatus of claim 1 wherein said cooking vessel comprises a handle.
 7. The cooking apparatus of claim 1 wherein said cover and said cooking vessel are at a predetermined diameter to maximize cooking using steam to get fried food texture.
 8. The cooking apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bottom end of said cover and said annular flange being designed to create a vapor seal when said apparatus is in use. 